Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized the conscription of 133,000 new servicemen as part of the autumn draft, which is set to commence on October 1 and continue until the end of the year, as outlined in a decree released by the Kremlin on Monday.

The decree, which appeared in the state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, specifies that the draft will target citizens aged 18 to 30 who are not in the reserve and are eligible for conscription under Federal Law, totaling 133,000 individuals.

Vice-Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, head of Russia’s conscription office, confirmed that the duration of service for conscripts will remain unchanged at 12 months within military units in Russia.

Tsimlyansky also emphasized that conscripts will not be deployed to participate in the special military operation in the newly annexed regions, as reported by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Russia refers to its ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which escalated with a full-scale invasion in February 2022, as a special military operation, while Kyiv and its allies characterize it as an unprovoked and imperialistic land grab.

In a decision widely criticized by much of the Western world, Russia annexed portions of southeastern Ukraine in late 2022, referring to these areas as ‘new regions.’ In response to perceived escalating threats along its western borders, President Putin ordered an increase in the Russian military by 180,000 troops in September, raising the total to 1.5 million active personnel, which would position it as the second largest military globally, following China.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, U.S. President Joe Biden, and other NATO leaders have held Putin accountable as the primary aggressor in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and as a source of threats to neighboring countries.